Car-brake



(No Model.) Hl P. NOTBOHM,

GAR BRAKE. Nfo. 269,103. Y 'IaA-,ented 1390212, 1882.

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' "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARMON F. NOTBOHM, oF JANESVILLE, ASSIefNoRl To cALnB Iv. HARRISON,

F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPCIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,103, dated December 121, 1882.

Application filed August 31,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARMON F. No'rBoHM, ot'. Janesville, in the county of Rock, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Brakes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to railway-car brakes,

and is in part an improvementon the inven- Io tion patented to me on the th day ofAngust, .1882, numbered 262,690, and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation,

I5 showing a portion of the floor-beams of a car,

with beams and brake-shoes and their hangers, but with the rest of the truck omitted. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the line mrof Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal verticallsection of 2o my entire device, and Fig. 4, is a detail view of the take-up.

In order to betterunderstand my present im-` provement, I hereby refer to my above-named' patent, with the understanding that in all respects, except those features herein specially noted as different, the parts of this device are identical with similar parts shown in said prior patent, and this reference will greatly simplify the task -ot' description, the present Fig. 3 corresponding (except in said details of improvements hereinafter to be noted)"to the left-hand portion of Fig. l ofsaidpaten t, while the righthand portion of Fig. 1 in said patent and the connection between front and rear trucks, (shown in Fig. 2 ot' said patent,) though not here shown, are to be understood as being the same, save only the details of improvements in the brake-hangers and -the addition of the take-up. 1

Referring to the drawings, (and dispensing with the letters A to E, inclusive, as these refer to parts shown in the said prior patent, but not herein illustrated,) F designates the long rod extending the whole length of each car, and G is the bottom or platform ofa car having trucks and wheels of ordinary construction, requiring no further description.

H H are the brake-beams, preferably suspended from the platform or bottom of the car by hinged rods I.

` K is a lever pivoted toa beam on the under side ofthe platform G, one end of which lever issecured to the rod F, while a doubled or endless chain,L, is likewise attached atits center to the said lever K.

M and N are bars, and m, n, and o links, and

m' n pivotal points, all as described at length in my said prior patent, and requiring no fur- R R represent my spring-hangers, and which 7o Y may be bent into the shape shown either at the left cr atthe right of Fig. l, (though I prefer the latter form5) or any modiiied form of spring may be substltu ted therefor. As shown, these hangers are suspended from the under side ofthe platform G, and at a pointpreferably inline with the brake-beams H H', Isecure to said hangers the 4brakeshoes h h', and then the said springs are curved around into substantially U shape, and to the outside stem of each So U I attach the brake-beams H and H', as shown.

S S represent braces or buffers projecting down from the platform G, with their lower ends bent so as to come in contact with the described spring-hangers R It, and serving as fulcra to prevent the bending of the springs above the said points of contact.

It now remains to describe the other iinprovement--namely, the take-up shown at the 9o left of Fig. 3 and in detail in Fig. 4. It consists primarily of the han ger T, suspended from below the platform G, and in which is pivoted the upper sheave, U, whileits lower portion is wider and forms ways tt for the sliding blocks c c, which are connected by the shaft c', and thus supportbetween them thelowersheave, V,

on said shaft. The chain of the long rod F4 is passed outwardly over the top of the upper sheave, U,and then back between the sheaves and under the lower shcave, V, and forward again, terminating in a vrod and hook or equivmatically operated whenever the head of thisl butter comes in contact with the head of the buffer W of another car, which will force the sliding blocks inward, bearing withI them the lower sheave, V, and hence take up the slack of the chain-a featureof great importance, inasmuch as Without such takeup the connections Would hang loosely between thecars when the buffers of two cars were brought or forced together, (as in stopping or going'downgrade, &c.,) and hence in such event the brake-rods would not work so long as the chains were slack. Again, when the cars were started the connection would be tightened with a jerk,

`thereby tending to breakage ot' the pins and links or other couplings, which is wholly obviated by my device. The advantages of my spring-han gers R over those of ordinary construction are that they permit of a sufficient pressure ot' the brake shoes to arrest the momentum of the wheels and so stop the car,while at the same time they yield sufficiently to allow the said Wheels to turn, and thereby sliding or skidding is prevented andthe wheels saved from uneven Wear.

In place of the braces S, any of the old systems-such as using springs for throwing the brake-shoes ofi' the Wheels, or such as hanging the "shoes at an angle that will clear the I wheels-may be employed; but I prefer to use these braces in ordinary cases.

The spring-hangers R may be, if desired, simply vertcahw'ith the shoes and brake-beams attached at different points thereto, and hence the rods I are not absolutely necessary to support the said brake-beams; but I prefer to use them to guard against possible breakage or accident.

With respect to the take-up, I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown in the drawings, as it may be indefinitely varied in detail without departing from the spirit of my invention; and it is to be understood that there is a take-up at each end of each car as Well as on the tender and engine, when desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y 1. The springhanger carrying the brakeshoe, and having an elastic extensionsecured to the brake-beam, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a spring-hanger, of the shoe and brake-beam attached at dii'erent points to said hanger.

3. The A combination ot' a swinging brakebeam, a swinging spring-hanger, a brake-shoe, and a brace or bui'eradaptcd to serve 'as ai'ulcrum to said spring-hanger, substantially as i set forth.

4. The combination of the brake-rod connections of railroad-cars with an automatic takeup consisting of a hanger, bearing xed sheave and sliding blocks bearing another sheave, said blocks being connected with a buffer, substantially as set forth.

5. The automatic take-up described,consist ,ing of hanger T, with Ways t t, fixed sheave U,

and sliding blocks U c, bearing sheave V, and connected to buffer W, substantially as set forth.

`In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand on this 25th day of August, 1882, in the presence of two Witnesses.

HARMON F. NOTBOHM.

l Witnesses:

STANLEY S. S'roUT,

HAROLD G. UNDERWooD. 

